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Church and the Deaf:

 

I've found that it helps to be continuously considering how to make it "very easy" for members to serve each other.
To help make it easier for members to connect here are a few ideas:

1. Provide an excuse. Create an Activities Committee to plan and host activities.  Once an activity is set up, the active members then have an excuse to contact the less active members.

2. Remove all ambiguity regarding: who what when where why and how.  Use an announcement newsletter, bulletin boards, and flyers.  Also announce activities from the pulpit and during Sunday School classes.
3. Make things convenient.  Find or develop "convenience." Look for natural confluences of events
and see how to maximize them.

The power of "Confluence"

According to Dictionary.com we read that a confluence is:
1. a flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like: the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
2. their place of junction: St. Louis is at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
3. a body of water formed by the flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like.
4. a coming together of people or things; concourse.

Confluences often occur in nature. Or in other words they occur naturally under the right conditions.
Thus as missionaries and church leaders we need to ask, how can we nudge "conditions" so that confluences between members occur in seemingly natural almost effortless ways.

We need to look for situations where we can bring about such confluences. By "finding" the situations we don't have to "create" the situations but rather we simply make use of the existing situation to bring about a confluence that might not have existed without our nudging.

Here is an example of one such confluence.
At my church one of the members enjoys going on hikes during the summer months.  She plans them out goes "just because" she likes to.
Since she is going hiking, and has already made the effort to plan out a hike, it only takes a few keystrokes on the computer (a nudge) to invite 50 church members to join the hike which has the potential of creating a confluence.  And indeed it does.  There are generally at least 5 or more other members of the congregation that show up for the hikes.  They spend time together doing something fun, chatting, and building connections while getting some fresh air and exercise. 

 


 

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